


The Most Profound Gifts

by innerslytherin



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-07
Updated: 2010-12-07
Packaged: 2017-10-15 12:02:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/160635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/innerslytherin/pseuds/innerslytherin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dave has some early morning quiet time with his two favorite girls.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Most Profound Gifts

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to [](http://microgirl8225.livejournal.com/profile)[**microgirl8225**](http://microgirl8225.livejournal.com/) for the quick beta and for organizing this fest! :D

"When I was a kid," Dave said, "my Uncle Tino used to talk about the Date That Would Live in Infamy. He was a senior in high school when it happened. They'd studied in school about the war in Europe and the Japanese invasion of China. Said he never imagined he'd be part of that."

He was rocking gently in his favorite recliner, Cara cradled in his lap. Her dark eyes were on his face, her expression sleepy. It was very early in the morning, but she hadn't been sleeping well lately. There were no lights on except the white lights on the fake pine in the corner. Emily had insisted on a Christmas tree since Cara was born. She'd also insisted they get an artificial one, since the scent of pine still gave Dave nightmares. Mucci was curled on the floor near Dave's feet, his tail thumping Dave's ankles.

"Your Great-Uncle Tino was with the Second Corps under Bradley. Took part in Operation Husky and helped liberate Italy, among other things. Crazy thing, he said, going back to the country his parents had left, but going back as a soldier." Dave shook his head. He'd done his own time, but thank God, he was about two years too young for Vietnam. Some of his drill instructors at Parris Island had been Vietnam vets. Some of his colleagues at the Bureau had been over there too. Dave felt lucky that he'd spend his four years in relative safety in South Korea.

"He'd have taken a real shine to you," Dave told Cara. "Always used to tell me I should have kids. It's thanks to guys like him and your mother's Grandpa Ed that we have such a good world to live in now." He closed his eyes, leaning his head back. "Something I want you to always remember, the diplomats like your grandma do great work in the world. But they wouldn't be able to if they didn't have soldiers to stand behind them."

He and Elizabeth Prentiss had finally come to a peace settlement of their own after she realized he was in Emily's life for the long haul. He and the Ambassador disagreed on a lot of things, including Emily's decision to scale back her career to become a mother. But she was Em's mother, and whatever faults Dave had, he also had a strong sense of family.

"To be honest," he murmured, stroking his daughter's hair. "I'd rather you do something like your mom or your grandma, instead of being a soldier. But you can do whatever you want. You can be whatever you feel like being. No matter what, you'll always be my little girl."

A noise behind him made him lift his head. Emily stood at the door to the hallway, wrapped in his flannel bathrobe. Her hair was rumpled, and she slouched with sleepiness. But her face shone with quiet happiness. She padded softly across the room to peer over his shoulder at Cara.

Their daughter was asleep, her mouth soft and slack. Dave lifted a finger to his lips, then handed her off carefully to Emily. Emily disappeared down the hallway, but Dave kept rocking, enjoying the quiet sound of the furnace and the creaking of springs in the recliner.

A few minutes later Emily came back into the room and slipped into his lap, curling up and tucking her head against his shoulder.

"You're starting these stories a little early, aren't you?" she murmured.

"Never too early to teach her about freedom," Dave said, circling Emily with his arms. "The more I tell her, hopefully the more she'll believe it, and grow into a strong, confident woman like her mom."

Emily chuckled. "Flatterer." She melted against him. "Thank you for being such a good father," she whispered.

He grunted. "Give me time. This is all still pretty new."

"You'll only get better the more practice you get," she said. "I love you so much."

"You know, this might be a good time for us to get twice the practice by giving Cara a little brother or sister," Dave said. He'd always suspected Emily had wanted more than one, but she'd never asked. He'd been thinking about it a lot lately, since seeing how Em had blossomed as a mother.

She went still in his lap. "Really?" Her voice was very small.

Dave cleared his throat. "Really," he managed. The thought of two kids scared him, but then again, the thought of one kid had scared him, and he couldn't imagine loving Cara more than he did already.

They were both silent for a few heartbeats. The springs in the recliner seemed to be squeaking very loudly all of a sudden. Dave wondered if he'd been wrong about this. Maybe she felt pressured by his words instead of happy. He'd intended the idea as a sort of early Christmas gift, as ridiculous as it seemed now.

Then Emily laughed and straightened up. "Come on, handsome," she said. "Let's go back to bed and I'll give you another reason to remember this date."  



End file.
